Blessed with a pleasant year round climate and abundant holiday activities, the Galapagos Islands have become a popular destination with discriminating travellers. Both amateur...

Blessed with a pleasant year round climate and abundant holiday activities, the Galapagos Islands have become a popular destination with discriminating travellers. Both amateur and professional natural scientists find Galapagos holidays a unique choice. Because of its abundance of friendly wildlife, the area offers a fun and rare learning environment for families on holiday with their children.

Galapagos Islands Cruises

Popular cruise lines provide Ecuador holidays which include Galapagos island stops. Shore excursions to the islands offer families ways to conveniently experience the islands with special tours to some of the most famous sites. Another way to cruise the islands is by chartered catamaran. These luxurious cruises offer guests large staterooms with optional suites, sun decks complete with hot tubs, and fine dining. The Galapagos Islands consist of 13 main islands, and catamaran cruises allow families more choices of islands to visit within the archipelago. Many catamaran cruise organizations also arrange fascinating shore excursions for their guests on Galapagos holidays.

Galapagos Islands by Land and By Sea

After arriving on the Galapagos Islands, the activity choices are nearly endless. The islands offer natural wonders to explore both on land and offshore. Families need only bring their sense of adventure and a camera while letting the Galapagos Islands supply the rest.

The urban city of Puerto Ayora on the Galapagos island of Santa Cruz offers a great first stop on a family Galapagos island itinerary. Because of its high degree of geologic activity, the area has many tunnels formed from cooled lava. Visitors venture deep into the earth and walk the path that volcanic lava once flowed. Professionally guided and self-guided tours are available as well as flashlights for visitors who wish to explore these eerie sites.

While visiting Puerto Ayora, the Charles Darwin Research Station is a popular holiday destination stop for families interested in learning about natural science, biology, and environmental conservation concerns. This is a great opportunity for children to learn principles of ecosystem stewardship while visiting the famous tortoises that make the island famous.

Children visiting the islands enjoy hiking and exploring the many caves of the islands while on Galapagos holidays. The islands’ wildlife is traditionally unafraid of human contact so the area offers the perfect outdoor science laboratory for young learners. Animals of particular attraction are penguins, iguanas, and lizards.

Exploring the Galapagos Islands by sea is just as exciting as land excursions. While certified divers take every opportunity to go deep, Galapagos island waters have such great visibility that tanks are really unnecessary to enjoy the aquatic scenery. Snorkelling the clear waters is a popular way for families to visit the sea lions and turtles in their natural environment.